Iraqi leaders slow to respond

An example of what can happen when other countries become too reliant on the United States to defend them can be seen in Iraq. Clearly, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders thought Americans would bail them out of their current dilemma.

In January, a Sunni Muslim army from Syria invaded Iraq. Within the past couple of weeks, it has scored disturbing successes against the Iraqi army.

On June 26, al-Maliki called members of Iraq’s parliament into a session.

That’s right:?Facing a threat that could destroy their country, Iraqi lawmakers have not even been meeting.

It is difficult to imagine a similar crisis in the U.S. But if one occurred, members of Congress would not wait to be called into session. They would rush to Capitol Hill.

It will – and should – be difficult to convince Americans we should bail Iraqi leaders out of an emergency they do not seem to be taking more seriously.